20 rooms with ceilings that take style to a whole new level

In the media/guest room of a Manhattan townhouse designed by Muriel Brandolini, the pair of painted armchairs date from 1905, and the Coral rug is by Fedora Design; the ceiling is covered in vintage Indian silk saris.

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Mikkel Vang

In an entry hall designed by Kelly Wearstler, the light fixture is vintage, and the stone sculpture is from JF Chen; the walls are painted in Glidden's Onyx Black, the floor is patterned with three different marbles, and on the ceiling is a wall covering by SJW Studios.

In a New York home designed by Richard Mishaan, the media room's sofa and ottomans are by B&B Italia, the armchairs are by Mishaan, and the acrylic side table is from Ruby Beets; the rugs are by CB2, and the ceiling is covered in a Phillip Jeffries wallpaper.

The original painted cedar ceiling in the bedroom of Stephen di Renza’s home in Morocco was restored by hand. Aboriginal bark paintings from New Zealand hang above a bed designed by Di Renza; the throw is a shepherd’s garment, the wardrobe is Moroccan, and the silk temple banner is turn-of-the-20th-century Chinese.

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William Waldron

A Holographic Ceiling

The ceiling in the entry of Tony Fornabaio and Joe Lupo’s Manhattan apartment is sheathed in holographic vinyl panels; Fornabaio designed the mirror and parchment desk.

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William Waldron

A Colorful Striped Ceiling

In the upstairs bath of a New York home, the tub has fittings from George Taylor Specialties, the hanging light is from Paula Rubenstein, and homeowner Malene Waldron designed and painted the ceiling.

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Roger Davies

In the living area of a Manhattan penthouse designed by Bunny Williams, a custom-made sofa slipcovered in a Duralee fabric, a vintage leather armchair from Amy Perlin Antiques, and a 1940s Italian chair surround a resin-and-Lucite Pierre Giraudon cocktail table from John Salibello Antiques; the ceiling is crafted from blue glass panels encased in a zinc frame, and the fireplace is of patinated zinc.

The stenciling on Martyn Lawrence Bullard's dining room ceiling was inspired by a Fortuny fabric, the light fixture is made of Indian lanterns, and a custom-made table is surrounded by 19th-century Italian chairs and Bullard-designed armchairs upholstered in a Schumacher linen; the walls are painted in Farrow & Ball’s Great White.

In the dining room designed by Ernest de la Torre, a light fixture by Hervé Van der Straeten from Ralph Pucci International hangs above a vintage Dunbar table and antique Flemish chairs; the walls are covered in silk stenciled with a William Morris motif, and the Jacobean-style plaster ceiling is original to the house.

No high-intensity color needed here. When Steven Gambrel recast the formal dining room of a 1927 Tudor as a family room in upstate New York, the original plaster relief ceiling brought a note of elegance and a nod to the past—much like the vintage chandelier.

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In Ivanka Trump's nursery, designed by Kelly Behun, the armchair and dresser are by Restoration Hardware Baby & Child, the mohair throw is by Susan Chalom, available to the trade from Holly Hunt, the mirror is by Marc Bankowsky, the chandelier is of Murano glass, and the ceiling is covered in a Sandberg wallpaper.

In jeweler Fawaz Gruosi’s study, a Florentine walnut chair sits next to a 16th-century Medici table, the armchair is from the late 18th century, the rug is Aubusson, and the ceiling was painted by a Florentine artisan.

The deep-orange lacquered ceiling in the guest room of designer Jeffrey Bilhuber’s Manhattan apartment reflects the rest of the room’s extraordinary details—including floors stenciled by Mark Uriu and walls covered with Groves Brothers’ Marianne cotton that is studded with nailheads. The ceiling is lacquered in Benjamin Moore’s Jupiter Glow.

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Photographer: William Waldron

Stained-pine planking overhead adds warmth to the dining room of designer Paul Ludick’s Pennsylvania home. A collection of folk art is illuminated by recessed track lighting, and a walnut-and-glass table is surrounded by a variety of antique chairs.

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Photographer: Simon Upton

In the bedroom of Antonello Radi’s Italian palazzo, the ceiling fresco dates from the 18th century and stands out against the sky-blue paint—a color often used in the houses of nobility during the 1600s and 1700s.

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Photographer: Firooz Zahedi

In Angela Janklow’s bold California dining room, designed by Timothy Corrigan, an enveloping, electric-hued Chanderi cotton draping by Designers Guild is the big show-stopper, but not the room’s only statement piece. A mirrored table pairs nicely with a set of colorful 18th-century Italian side chairs upholstered in a Manuel Canovas cotton.

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Photographer: Simon Upton

Almost every ceiling in Fawaz Gruosi and Caroline Gruosi-Scheufele’s 19th-century Switzerland home is painted by Florentine artisans, including the botanical-inspired circular work in the orangery, from which 19th-century birdcages are hung.

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Photographer: Antoine Bootz

In the dining room of a sophisticated Manhattan apartment designed by Shamir Shah, a ceiling of rice-paper shades—31, to be exact—lends an ethereal, cloudlike effect.

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Photographer: William Waldron

For Renny Reynolds, a floral designer, and Jack Staub, a garden writer, having a tropical mural on the tray ceiling of their Florida summer home’s living room seems only natural. The work—an ongoing project by artist Claudia Funke, who adds to it when visiting—features coconut palms, philodendrons, parrots, and creeping iguanas. The room opens onto a patio on the water and is decorated with rattan sofas, chairs, and tables.

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Photographer: Simon Upton

In the 19th-century Paris apartment of textile guru Lisa Fine, the tented parlor is covered entirely with fabric that she purchased on the street. Paired with rich, red built-in bookcases and a camel table from Galerie Flore, the room exudes a worldly sensibility.

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